Tabula Rasa
by 97TaraMarkov
Summary: Sequel to "Change." Terra is ready to move on and make a name for herself, but she just can't escape her past. Even worse, her powers are failing her, is her second chance being taken away? And did Slade ever complete his quest for the perfect apprentice? Prologue takes place way before "Change." Present day is about 1/2year after "Change." STARTING WORK ON THE NEXT INSTALLMENT
1. Chapter 1-Prologue

Prologue

16 Years Ago

Four people waited in the damp, cold cave. Three of them, an athletic boy with spiky, black hair; a statuesque, golden-tanned girl; and a tall, older boy with a body half made of metal stood close, speaking in hushed tones. The fourth, a small boy with green skin and hair, shifted his weight impatiently from his right foot to his left.

"How long till they get here?" he asked for the umpteenth time, glancing anxiously at the stone girl in the center of the cavern, perched atop her pedestal.

As the rest of the team rolled their eyes in annoyance, the room filled with a darkness that even Cyborg's shoulder-light couldn't penetrate. The four heroes all felt their muscles tense involuntarily, though they knew that this wasn't a threat. As quickly as it came, it vanished, and as the cavern filled with light once again, a tall, gray-skinned girl with violet hair appeared, with three others in tow. She held in her arms a little boy, whose slightly older brother and sister clung onto Raven's cape, their heads still barely reaching her waist. At the sight of the other titans, the little girl grinned.

"I'm sorry Bobby couldn't come, but someone had to stay and watch Teether's teddy and Timmy's blanket." Suddenly, her eyes grew wide and she dashed over to Terra's statue. "Is this her?" she asked in wonder.

Raven handed the littlest, Teether, off to Starfire as Timmy and the others joined the little blonde girl by the pedestal. She drew Robin aside.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea? Melvin's power lets her create things from her imagination, but she's never tried to bring to life anything as complicated as a human before."

Robin's brow creased: clearly he was losing confidence in his own plan.

"She made Bobby real didn't she? I'd think a giant, living teddy bear would be more complicated than this."

"That's different. Bobby isn't fully real; it, he, still lives partially in her imagination, which is why he's invisible to everyone but her most of the time."

Before Robin could reply, Melvin darted over to the two of them.

"I'm ready to try."

Raven had her doubts, but the excitement radiating from the girl was infectious and she found herself grinning along with her.

"All right," she sighed as she let Melvin lead her and Robin to Terra's statue. She released their hands and sat cross-legged in front of the plaque that read, "Terra, a Teen Titan, a true friend."

"We thought this'd help," said Beast Boy as he handed Melvin a photo album containing pictures of the girl.

Raven crouched down next to the girl as she thumbed through the pages of photographs. "You don't have to do this if you don't think you're ready-."

"I'm ready," Melvin chirped excitedly. Raven nodded, stood up, and stepped back.

Keeping the palm of her left hand pressed to the open photo album, Melvin reached out and placed her right hand on one of the statue's cold feet. She closed her eyes and concentrated on everything she knew about the girl; soon, even things that she didn't know came rushing into her head. Terra's memories raced through Melvin's consciousness. Faster and faster they came as Terra's emotions also began to take form in the young girl's mind. She felt all of the hurt, betrayal, guilt, and regret with such intensity that they threatened to consume her. The Titans and her brothers watched anxiously as her hands glowed with white light. Another watched the group from a distance, where the brilliant glow of the girl's powers didn't reach. Suddenly, the light flashed and went out as her powers failed and her tortured scream reverberated off the cavern walls. The shadow looked at the horrified faces of the Titans and he smiled grimly beneath his orange and black mask. When a boy's crying was heard in place of the scream, his attention was drawn to the two brothers and a plan began taking shape in his twisted mind.

"Third try's the charm," he mused to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Present Day

It was a quiet, cool night in Bellain City. Central Park was empty, save for two teenagers sitting on a grassy slope, silhouetted by the dim light of a nearby streetlamp. The girl spoke as a cold breeze blew a strand of her long, blonde hair out of her face.

"I can't believe that neither of us has been to Bellain before. It's so beautiful."

Her companion, a dark-haired boy with a slight British accent, replied. "Yeah, a sorry pair of travelers we are."

They laughed lightly and then fell into a comfortable silence. Terra enjoyed Erik's company. Even their more awkward silences were better than being alone.

After Terra had left Jump City, she had traveled from place to place. Much like she had done before she met the Titans. This time, however, was different. This time, she wasn't running, driven out because of her mistakes. She lingered, staying in one place for sometimes more than a week at a time. That was how she had met Erik, though she had first known him by his hero name, Pulse. He had the ability to manipulate energy, sending waves of blue at his opponent. He could erect shields of it as well, much like Raven could. They had met just a few days ago, but had quickly become friends.

The silence stretched on, each absorbed in his or her own thoughts. Terra cringed inwardly as the throbbing pain of another headache hit her like a brick wall. In the months since she had been freed from her stone prison, she had begun having headaches with increasing frequency and intensity. Recently, her powers had been acting up as well, surging and causing her to lose control. Terra wouldn't admit it, but she was scared. She didn't know what was going on and Erik was no help, even with his minor healing powers. He must have been thinking along the same lines because he looked at her then, his expression grim when he registered the pained look on her face.

"Your head again?"

She nodded in response, wincing at the pain that even that small movement caused.

"You know," he began hesitantly, "If you just told my more about your past, I might be able to help you figure out what's causing this." His voice was full of worry, but also curiosity.

Terra didn't respond. Erik didn't know anything about her past and she preferred to keep it that way. _This is supposed to be a clean slate for me. _

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and the two jumped to their feet, Erik, slipping his mask over his eyes as he did so.

"I think it came from over there!" Terra exclaimed, gesturing in the direction of the new Wayne Industries building nearby. Pulse and Terra sprinted across the street, headaches forgotten.

O-O-O

People streamed out of the huge building, coughing on smoke that didn't appear to be accompanied by a fire. Out of the corner of her eye, Terra saw a dark figure retreat into an alley. She nudged Pulse with her elbow and they quickly gave chase. Their quarry was dressed in all black, with no visible distinguishing features. Terra noted that he had something clenched in one of his hands.

The thief ran tirelessly, but the same couldn't be said about Pulse and Terra, for they soon began to tire. Pulse fired spheres of blue energy, but all that did was exhaust him further, as the thief dodged each one with amazing agility. They chased him through a maze of alleys and backstreets until he emerged onto a crowded roadway. A motorcycle with a masked driver sped by and he leapt onto it. Terra quickly broke off a chunk of the sidewalks, apologizing to the few pedestrians standing close to it, as she and Pulse climbed up onto it and flew after the two crooks. The motorcycle weaved through the congested streets at a breakneck pace until it veered out of town and onto the highway. Without the rest of the city traffic, it was easier for Terra to spot their quarry and follow from the air. Even so, they began to fall behind again. All of a sudden, Terra stopped, nearly launching Pulse off the front of the concrete slab.

"What's wrong? Why did we stop?" He sounded worried and a little annoyed.

Terra remained silent, her gaze fixated on the horizon.

"Now we'll never know where they are going," Pulse said as he watched the motorcycle's tail lights disappear with the rest of the traffic leaving Bellain.

"Jump City," replied Terra with an air of certainty. Sure enough, the twinkling lights of Jump City and Titans' Tower were visible in the distance.

"Well, shouldn't we follow them?"

"Not now," she said, turning the block of cement around and flying back the way they came. "We don't even know what they took." _I've purposely avoided going back there, too much history... _Terra thought as she felt her stomach churn nervously. Her head had begun pounding again as well and she wanted to get safely back to the ground as soon as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

Pulse and Terra landed among the throngs of people gathered at the base of the Wayne Industries building, earning some confused glances from passerby. Terra confidently strode over to where some scientists were speaking in hushed tones with a police officer. The officer gave Terra a suspicious look as she and Pulse approached.

"Can I help you?"

Pulse smiled. "No, but I think we can help you."

The other raised an eyebrow, still suspicious.

"We chased the thief and it looks like he is heading to Jump City. Oh, and he had help from some other guy on a motorcycle. You should get in touch with their department."

Clearly, the policeman didn't like being told what to do by a sixteen-year-old kid, but he knew better than to argue with a metahuman, so he left to go radio his headquarters. Pulse watched him leave, his cocky grin prompting an eye-roll from Terra.

"Dad! Mom!" A boy about Terra's age ran past her to a red-haired man in a lab coat. "What happened? Are you guys okay?"

A woman, also wearing a lab coat, stepped forward and hugged the boy tightly. "We're fine."

The man spoke as the boy untangled himself from his mother's arms. "I'm Dr. Tripp and this is my wife, Nora, and our son, Henry."

"Hey," said Henry casually.

"Hi," Pulse replied, taking a step forward. "My name's Pulse and this stick-in-the-mud is- oof!" He was cut off as Terra elbowed him sharply in the ribs.

She smiled. "I'm Terra."

"What happened here exactly?" Pulse asked, after he got his breath back.

"I was in the vaults getting some metallic chromium to work with," Dr. Tripp began. "Suddenly, the wall exploded and some kind of smoke bomb went off. In the confusion, someone took the chromium from my hands and disappeared."

"So," Pulse said, "this chromium-stuff that was stolen, what would the thief want with it?"

"There's no way to know for certain. Metallic chromium has many uses, industrial and otherwise. It is also very rare; whoever stole it may try to sell it on black market."

"Unless," his wife began, but she was interrupted.

"Don't scare them Nora. You know that's only theoretical."

"What's only theoretical?" Terra inquired. _Metallic chromium._ The name set off alarm bells in her head, but she couldn't remember where she had heard it before.

Mrs. Tripp ignored her husband's protests and continued. "A Chronoton Detonator. It is an incredibly complicated device. Put simply, it can freeze time within a localized area."

_A Chronoton Detonator? Freezing time?_ She now remembered why it all sounded so familiar. During her time with the Teen Titans, Beast Boy had told her all about how a fake Chronoton Detonator, built by Slade, had implanted probes in the Team (with the exception of Robin) that would kill them unless Robin did as Slade asked. Fortunately, Slade had been defeated. _That is, until I came along…_ Terra recalled, feeling her stomach churn with guilt. _Stop,_ she reprimanded herself, _I've moved on. That doesn't matter anymore._

"But," Dr. Tripp said suddenly, startling Terra out of her thoughts. "It doesn't matter anyway; the technology it would take to build a working prototype is still far more advanced than anything we have access to now."

"All right, well, thanks Doctor. Terra and I will catch this guy," Pulse said, exchanging a handshake.

O-O-O

As Pulse and Terra trekked back up the hill in the park, the former spoke. "Hey, are you okay? When Dr. Tripp mentioned the Chronoton Detonator, you went all space-case on us."

"It's nothing," Terra insisted, attempting a lighthearted smile.

Pulse raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. _I worry about her sometimes_, he thought to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

After the fiasco of the break-in the night before, Terra and Erik had retreated to their campsite in the thriving forest just outside of Bellain. They decided that, bright-and-early the next morning, they would travel to Jump City to pursue the thief. Terra was the first to wake up as the sun peeked through the leafy canopy. She groggily rolled out of her sleeping bag and walked deeper into the woods. If there was one thing that Terra hated about camping, it was the lack of restrooms.

Upon her return to the campsite, Terra took note of the undefined lump across the clearing that meant that Erik was still asleep. She walked over to it and nudged it with her foot.

"Hey, are you still alive in there?"

There was no response.

"Apparently not," she muttered to herself as she pulled back the top layer of his sleeping bag. She was surprised to find that the space where Erik should have been was occupied only by his jacket and pillow.

Suddenly, a blast of energy slammed into Terra's back and she was thrown violently forward. Feeling adrenaline pumping through her body, she twisted in mid-air before landing on the ground with a somersault. She blinked as she realized that the force of the blast had thrown her some twenty-five feet, and that the trunk of a tree was just an inch away from her face. Terra breathed a sigh of relief. _That was a close one._ Hands aglow, she stood up and spun around to face her attacker.

"_Erik?_"

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Erik responded from across the clearing, a mischievous grin on his face.

Terra powered down and stormed over to where he was standing.

"What the heck were you thinking?" she fumed. Although there had been no real harm done, the impact of Erik's energy blast had worsened her ever-present headache and she was upset with herself for getting caught off-guard.

"I was just keeping you on your toes." He shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well, don't do that again!" she snapped. "You scared me half-to-death!"

"Okay, okay. Yeesh!"

They began to pack up their things in silence. Soon, Erik tried to break the ice with a joke from his vast store.

"So, uh, why'd the aardvark cross the road?"

"To beat up the idiot telling jokes about it," she retorted automatically, remembering Raven's comeback whenever Beast Boy had mentioned anything crossing the road. Erik's similarity to Beast Boy sometimes brought back memories that she'd hoped would stay buried.

Erik could see that she wasn't in the mood for jokes, so he went into the woods to change into his costume. It consisted of boots, pants, and a long-sleeved shirt. It was mostly black, except for veins of blue, metallic fabric that spread to the far corners of the uniform and made it appear as if he belonged in a science-fiction movie. The final component, a black and blue mask, he slipped on as he stepped back in the clearing a few minutes later.

Terra herself didn't wear a costume. Though she always kept her black and yellow Titan uniform with her, it hadn't felt right for her to wear it since she was no longer a Teen Titan. She was clad in a regular, pale blue, long-sleeved shirt and jeans. She also wore her usual gloves, boots, and her silver butterfly comb to hold back her bangs. _I'm not Terra: Teen Titan anymore; the others have moved on, I should too. But, I'm not who I used to be either. I guess I don't really know who I am right now._

"Ready to go?" Pulse asked, bringing Terra back to the present.

"Yeah," she replied as she slung her brown backpack over her shoulders.

"Hey, wait up!"

Pulse and Terra turned to see two figures emerge into the clearing from the direction of the city. The first was a boy wearing a costume in variations of purple and gold that was similar to the long-sleeve shirt and pants style of Erik's, but with the addition of a cape. The second was a girl with shoulder-length, jet-black hair dressed in a short, maroon and black dress with leggings underneath. Terra had always been good with faces and even though the boy was wearing a mask, she could tell exactly who he was.


	5. Chapter 5

"Henry?"

He seemed surprised that she had been able to guess his identity. "Shhh! Keep it down, will ya'? When the mask is on, I'm Wildcard. Oh, and this is Ever," he said, gesturing to the girl.

"Also known as Alix," she added in a slight Russian accent.

"We thought we could help you guys catch the people who stole from the lab."

"Do you have powers? What can you do?" Pulse inquired, intrigued by the newcomers.

"I don't know," Wildcard began. "What can _you _do?"

He walked up to Pulse and put his hand on his shoulder. Wildcard seemed to concentrate for a moment before he stepped away and aimed his palm at a bush across the clearing. A ball of blue energy, the same as Pulse's, shot from his hand, and the bush exploded in a flurry of leaves and branches. The shocked expressions on Pulse and Terra's faces prompted an explanation.

"On take-your-kid-to-work day I got into some experimental chemicals at my parents' lab that were supposed to help kids with learning disabilities. Since then, I've been able to 'learn' the powers of other people through touch, except, I can only hold onto one at a time. Still, pretty cool, huh?"

"I'll say," said Pulse. "What about you?" he asked Ever.

"Me? Nothing."

Wildcard chimed in. "She's crazy skilled at martial arts though. She kicks some serious butt!"

"Well," Terra began, "It would be great to have you along, but won't your parents be worried about you?"

He grinned. "Emergency work trip; they won't even know I'm gone."

Terra turned to Ever, who just shook her head in response.

"All right then, feel free to tag along," Terra said as she began gathering a large enough chunk of earth for all four of them to stand on.

"Neat!" exclaimed Wildcard, who touched her arm and began using her powers to help.

With both Terra and Wildcard working together, they completed their task quickly, and the four climbed onto the platform. Pulse looked at Terra in a way that seemed to say, "_You're sure that you can do this?_"

She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "_I'm fine._" Her hands glowed as she levitated the mass of dirt and stone up over the treetops.

O-O-O

Their trip went slower than the night before, since this platform was twice the size of the one that she and Pulse had used earlier, and thus took more power to move. The day was young, but it was already warm with spring heat. Their platform neared a lake, and Wildcard piped up excitedly.

"Hey, I know this place! Don't suppose we could stop for a swim?"

"I don't think- nnngh!"

Terra was cut-off in mid-sentence when she felt a sharp pain in her head, and her vision filled with a yellow haze. She heard Henry cry out as well before the rock began to crumble and all four heroes plummeted towards the lake, more than fifty feet below.


	6. Chapter 6

Thinking quickly, Pulse shot a wave of blue energy at the lake, creating a shockwave to act as a cushion as they fell. Still, the impact of the water knocked both Terra and Wildcard out cold. Pulse swam quickly over to where Wildcard's limp form was rising up and down with the waves. As he dragged him through the shallows, Pulse saw that there was steam rising from the surface of the lake. He glanced over to Ever, who had just climbed onto the rocky shore with Terra in tow. She returned his confused look with one of her own, having also noticed the unusual warmth of the water. Pulse and Ever set the other two down by the water's edge, and it wasn't long before Wildcard came to his senses.

"Mmnnnuhh, my head is killing me!" Wildcard reached out his hand towards Pulse to exchange Terra's power for his; he blinked in surprise. "Never mind…"

At this point, Terra was beginning to wake up as well, and Pulse knelt down next to her where she was propped up against a rock.

"Are you alright?"

"Ouch, yeah, I guess."

"Maybe we should rest here for a while," Ever said hesitantly.

"Sounds good to me," Terra replied, managing a weak smile.

"You know, when I asked if we could go for a swim, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

Ever ignored Wildcard's attempt to lighten the mood. "Does this sort of thing happen to your powers often?"

Terra shook her head. "No, only, recently it's been happening more and more."

"Woah, guys, I just realized something really weird," Wildcard exclaimed.

Everyone turned to him in annoyance, expecting another smart remark.

"Me and Terra's headaches started, and our powers malfunctioned just as we began flying over the lake, right?"

"Henry, I swear, if this is another joke," Ever began with an exasperated sigh.

"No, shhhh! Just listen, okay? My parents used to take me camping here all the time, and they told me that this lake is on top of a dormant volcano (which explains why the water is always so warm), and since Terra has earth-y powers, well, I just thought it was strange."

"It doesn't seem very dormant to me," Pulse remarked.

Pulse, Ever, and Wildcard soon began bickering about what to do next; they couldn't ride another rock the rest of the way to Jump City, because of the highly-likely possibility of another of Terra's power failures. Terra had already concluded that the only other option was to walk, but she waited for the others to figure that out, and tuned them out in order to think. _What's happening to me? My head has never hurt this badly, and I've never had this much trouble keeping my powers under control, even before Slade taught me how._

While Ever and Wildcard dried out their things, which had gotten more than a little soaked in the lake, Pulse talked to Terra.

"You really have no idea what's causing your powers to go all haywire?"

"No," was all Terra said, that is, until she had an epiphany a few seconds later. "But I think I know someone who can help."

Pulse, who had never heard of any of Terra's old acquaintances, or of anything in her past for that matter, raised an eyebrow. "Who?"


	7. Chapter 7

Garfield Logan sat on the plush couch in the main room of his apartment, hunched over a laptop on the coffee table in front of him. Work at the JCPD had been especially busy as of late, mostly because a recent earthquake had decimated Jump City's prison, and half of the city's most dangerous prisoners had escaped. Gar leaned back against the couch and groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. He jumped at the sound of a knock on the door.

_Please, let it be a supervillain. Please, let it be a supervillain_, he thought as he got up to answer the door; anything to quell his boredom. When he opened the door, he was shocked to see that it was not a supervillain, but a more welcome sight.

"Hi Gar," said Terra.

"Terra!" he exclaimed as they both stepped forward and embraced each other in a quick, tight hug.

When they broke apart again, Garfield got a better look Terra; she had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in weeks. It was then that he registered that she wasn't alone, there were three other individuals with her, none of whom Gar recognized. One in particular caught his eye, the only other girl in the group. There was something about her short, black hair combined with the maroon color of her dress that struck him as familiar, very familiar. He grinned broadly, despite the hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

"Come on in," Gar said as he stood back from the doorway. He invited them to have a seat on the couch, and dragged a chair in from the kitchen for himself to sit on.

"Where have you been hiding? I mean, how long has it been now? At least six months, right?"

"Five and a half." She smiled.

He chuckled. "Who are your friends?"

"This is Pulse," she began, indicating to the boy directly to her right.

"Hello," Pulse said. Garfield noted how close he was sitting to Terra, and feelings of nostalgia surfaced.

"Wildcard."

"Hi," said the boy sitting to the right of Pulse, sounding slightly awestruck to be in the presence of the ex-Teen Titan.

"And Ever."

"Hello," said the girl sitting at the end of the couch opposite Terra._ Ever. Her name doesn't sound familiar, but her accent..._

"You're Madame Rouge's daughter?" Gar asked, instantly suspicious.

Ever nodded, eyes narrowed. "But I am not my mother," she said pointedly, as if this was not the first time she had needed to clarify that fact.

Garfield nodded, and smiled with approval. Terra, Pulse, and Wildcard looked to Gar and Ever as if waiting for an explanation, but none were forthcoming.

"So," Gar began, "what brings you here? You don't call. You don't write. I don't hear anything from you for some five-and-a-half months, and then BAM, you show up at my front door."

He seemed to make some sort of connection, because the expression on his face changed form polite curiosity to that of concern. "This isn't about all the earthquakes is it? They've been all over the news."

"I'm not sure. I've been getting these headaches, and it's getting harder and harder for me to control my powers."

Gar furrowed his brow in confusion. "How can I help?"

"I think Raven may be able to figure out what's wrong with me, but I don't know how to get in touch with her."

"Oh, well, I'm actually going to be meeting her at the Civic Center in about an hour; the music festival starts tonight."

_The Jump City Music Festival? _Terra glanced at the calendar that was laying amidst a pile of papers on the coffee table

"It's your birthday!" she exclaimed.

Gar grinned. "I was wondering how long it would take you to notice."

Wildcard was unable to hold back his curiosity. "How is it that you two know each other, anyway?"

Garfield looked to Terra, unsure of how to respond to Wildcard's question. She gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head in response.

"It's a long story," he began, "and I really need to be leaving to meet Rae soon. You can all come along too, of course. Just give me a few to get ready."


	8. Chapter 8

Raven waited just outside of the double doors of the Civic Center, looking somewhat out-of-place with her gray skin, violet hair, and dark blue cloak. She was mildly surprised when she watched Garfield climb out of the city bus and ascend the front steps with four others in tow. Terra she recognized, but the others were unfamiliar to her. Curious, she quickly scanned their emotions as they approached.

The black-haired girl was slightly nervous, feeling as out-of-place as Raven looked. The boy dressed in blue and black seemed to be calm and collected, but also a little uncomfortable. The younger boy was excited, and a little bit starstruck. Lastly, Terra; she appeared relaxed outwardly, but Raven could tell with her empathic abilities that the teen was scared, and in a lot of pain.

Raven was loathe to admit that Terra's condition worried her, but perhaps she was a little...unnerved; however, she was very interested in the others, and although she could have simply read their minds to find out who they were, they were about to introduce themselves in fifty-nine seconds anyway, so she decided that there was really no point.

_Three...two...one, _she thought. _Hey Rae._

"Hey Rae," Gar greeted when he reached her.

"Hello," she replied as he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, smirking mentally when she felt Terra's ensuing rush of emotions.

Introductions were made, and soon the group of six filed into the stadium that housed the music festival. They all found their seats and waited for the show to begin. Raven took the opportunity to get a better read on Terra's new acquaintances.

The black-haired girl, Ever, was the daughter of the renowned supervillain, and core member of the Brotherhood of Evil, Madame Rouge. Unlike her mother, who had had the ability to change the shape of her elastic-like body at will, Ever did not appear to have any powers.

Raven was mentally thrown when she tried to read deeper into the older boy's mind; Pulse's innermost thoughts were shrouded by some kind of mental energy shield. She could sense turmoil within him, but not much else.

Wildcard was another story entirely, easier to read than any of the others. He appeared to be the only one of Terra's new friends to have a close relationship with his parents, who were currently on a business trip a few states away.

Terra herself was sitting in the seat directly to Raven's left. At such close proximity, Raven could feel the pain rolling off the girl in waves. She searched, but found nothing in Terra's mind that would provoke such a feeling.

The lights in the stadium went out in preparation for the first performance.

-O-O-O-

Terra sat stiffly throughout the first few performances. Her head was throbbing worse than ever, and the bright, flashing lights, and blaring music didn't help matters. The concert was at intermission now, and Terra's friends were chatting avidly about bands that she didn't even remember watching, having been too absorbed in her headache. Only Raven was quiet, but Terra thought that it looked like she wanted to say something. Despite the din around her, Terra's headache began to slowly fade.

"Are you feeling alright?" Raven asked in her usual unfeeling monotone, having sensed Terra's change in demeanor.

Terra's headache had just subsided, and she was about to answer, when she suddenly felt a stabbing pain shoot through her whole body. She convulsed in her chair, and stood up rather jerkily.

"I...I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

She staggered quickly through the lobby, and out the double doors, where she braced herself against a flagpole. Terra stood there for a moment, just breathing. _In...out...in...out...in...out. _She slid her back down the pole until she was sitting. Terra felt a tingling sensation in her hands, and looked at them to find that they had turned the same gray hue as the concrete she was sitting on. Panicked, Terra rolled back her sleeves, and discovered that the stone color had spread nearly up to her elbows.

_No!_


	9. Chapter 9

Terra was still staring at her arms in dismay, when some sort of shock wave threw her into the wall of the Civic Center.

"So, you must be Terra. You know, I really don't see how someone so _weak _could possibly be worth the sacrifice of a five-year-old girl."

Terra was immediately alert, her gaze darting over to the flagpole, where a person was now leaning casually against it. He seemed to be at least twenty, with ginger-colored hair. He was wearing plates of black and orange armor, a combination which was uncomfortably familiar to Terra, and though he wasn't wearing a mask, his freckled face wasn't one that she recognized. He began to walk towards Terra as he continued to speak.

"I mean, wasn't it the Titans' job to _help_ people?"

"What are you talking about?" Terra asked, getting slowly to her feet.

The other smirked wryly. "Oh, they haven't told you?"

He was standing directly in front of Terra now. With her back against the wall, there weren't many options for an escape route, and Terra wasn't sure that she trusted her powers at the moment. In other words, she was trapped.

"They haven't told you how hard they worked to try to free you? How they became so _desperate_ they would sacrifice my sister if there was even the slightest chance it would bring you back? And you know what: it didn't even work. My sister died for nothing."

Terra was dumbfounded. "But, if it didn't work, then how was I-?" She began to ask him how she had been freed, but she was interrupted.

"I bet your two new buddies know, not that you'll ever get the chance to ask them," he hissed, before he brought his hand back to fire another surge of sonic energy, which Terra suspected would be fatal at such close range, or nearly so.

_I have to do _something_! _She braced herself to raise a shield of rock, but before she was able to, a wall of blackness slammed into her opponent, sending him reeling. Raven, the mistress of magic herself, materialized in front of Terra.

"Terra, go join the others. I'll handle this," she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

-O-O-O-

Raven watched Terra leave before turning around to face the other, who had just gotten back to his feet.

"Been a long time, hasn't it Rae?" he sneered.

"Timmy, what happened to you? We haven't seen you since Melvin..."

"Died? You can say it."

"What happened to you?" Raven repeated her unanswered question, gazing steadily at the boy who had once been like a son to her.

"Why don't you just read my mind, and find out? I'm an open book." He held his arms out in a welcoming gesture.

-O-O-O-

After Terra went back into the Civic Center, her first thought was of the stone color that had mysteriously appeared on her arms. She rushed to the women's bathroom, and went immediately into the handicap stall, which was one of those fancy ones with its own sink and mirror. Locking the door behind her, and taking a deep breath, she turned to face the small mirror. Terra was shocked to find that her arms were their normal, healthy tan.

Terra continued to check every inch of her body, until she was satisfied that everything was normal. She left the bathroom in a daze, mind swimming with questions left unanswered, but unable to focus on any one of them at a time. She barely noticed when she walked right into someone.

"Terra!" Ever exclaimed. "The show is over. We've been looking everywhere for you!"

Terra was dimly aware that Ever was talking to her, but she wasn't really listening. She also failed to register that Wildcard, Pulse, and Gar had appeared behind Ever. Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong, green hands clasp firmly onto her shoulders. Garfield was leaning down, his worried face a few inches away from her own.

"Terra, what happened? Where's Raven?"

She blinked in confusion, forcing herself to focus on his deep emerald eyes. _Answer_, she told herself, _come-on, say something. _"I'm not sure. She-."

As if on cue, a very battered-looking Raven walked through the double doors, stopping to pull Garfield aside for a minute. They were speaking too quietly for Terra to hear, but their body language told her that something serious was going on. She watched their exchange until they both returned to the four young heroes.

"We're going to go back to my place," Garfield began cautiously, "and see if we can figure things out."


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as the group returned to Gar's apartment, Raven explained that she was going to attempt to journey as deep as she could into Terra's subconscious, in order to discern what was causing her headaches and power failures. Raven led her into the bedroom where they could meditate in quiet. They both sat down cross-legged on the floor.

"But, shouldn't we do something about that guy?"

Raven tensed. "He is of no concern to us at the moment," she replied as she extended her hands, palms facing upward.

Terra reached out, and placed her hands in Raven's.

"Now, close your eyes, and open your mind..."

-O-O-O-

Henry sat anxiously on the sofa. He didn't really know why he was so anxious, but everyone else seemed to be, and if they were a bit antsy, he guessed it was right for him to be as well. Alix was sitting on the couch next to him, reading a book that she had plucked from their host's bookcase. Garfield and Erik were sitting at the kitchen table, chatting amiably about who-knows-what. It all seemed very surreal to Henry.

_Here I am, sitting in the apartment of one of the ex-Teen Titans. I mean, those guys were my heroes, and then here comes Terra, acting like they're her best buds. Just who _is _she? And how in the world does she know them so well?_

"Okay, I need some answers!" Henry exclaimed loudly as he stood up from the couch.

"Shh! That door isn't soundproof," Alix hissed, jerking her head towards the closed bedroom door. "Raven needs to concentrate."

"Sorry," Henry began in a much quieter tone, before turning to Gar, "but I still want to know how Terra knows you and Raven."

"Like I said before, it's a long story," Gar answered simply.

Henry sat glumly back down on the sofa.

"Well, it looks like we have the time," Erik said.

Gar seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking his head. "My lips are sealed; if Terra wanted you to know, she'd have told you."

_Am I the only one who remembers that the reason we all came here in the first place was to get back the metallic chromium?_ Henry wondered grumpily.

-O-O-O-

Both Terra's and Raven's eyes flashed open in the same instant, and where there was once the bright rays of the setting sun pouring in through the window, there was now just the dim glow of the city lights. They had been meditating for nearly a half hour.

"What did you see?"

Raven stood up silently, and walked across the room. "Coming?" she asked as she opened the door.

Terra hurried to her feet, and followed Raven into the living room. All eyes were on them, making Terra feel rather awkward. She took a seat on the couch next to Alix, who (along with Henry and Erik) had been filled-in by Gar on the events of the evening.

"How did it go?" Alix asked.


	11. Chapter 11

"How did it go?"

Terra shrugged her shoulders in response. "No clue."

Raven moved to the center of the room, where she could command everyone's attention. "I still do not know where Terra's power comes from, but I think I know how it works," she began, getting right down to business, as was usual for her. "The amount of energy within the Earth is massive, and I believe that Terra acts as a channel for that pent-up energy, thus, keeping seismic activity relatively under control.

For some reason, it seems that more and more raw energy is entering her system, quicker than she can channel it into other activities, which is the reason for her recent power surges, and probably the headaches as well. I suspect that something is wrong with the material source of your power, Terra. Whatever it is, it is no longer able to support the strain of manipulating the Earth's energy."

"So we find it, and fix it?" Gar asked.

"The only problem with that plan is that nothing in Terra's mind gave me any indication of what it is, or where to even begin looking," Raven answered, somewhat pessimistically.

Terra was deep in thought. _"...your two new buddies know..."_ Terra suddenly sat up straighter, causing the others on the sofa to look at her in confusion.

"Henry, Alix, do either of you know anything?" she asked.

"How would we?" Henry replied.

"Well, it's just, that guy who attacked me said that the two of you knew something."

"Wait a minute," Henry began, perplexed, "how would he know if we knew?"

Alix had an epiphany. "Henry, you don't think...?"

"What? What don't I think?"

"Remember that night we were staked out at the museum, and-."

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific."

"I was not finished! Anyway, we were staked out, and some robots tried to make-off with that yellow gem-thing?"

"A yellow gem?" Raven inquired, seemingly very interested in Alix's story.

Alix nodded. "Yes, like I said, some humanoid robots were trying to steal it. We stopped them, but butter-fingers over here dropped it, and it broke in two. The strange thing is that when it did, there was an earthquake."

Raven raised an eyebrow.

"How long ago was this, exactly?" Terra asked, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

"I'm not sure, it seems like it was a while ago. Half of a year, maybe?"

Terra's whole body tensed. _That's about when I was freed. Is it possible they had something to do with it? _She was convinced.

"I thought the curator was going to have it repaired," Alix continued. "I can call later and find out if it ever was."

"That would be wise," Raven stated, before directing her attention to Terra. "Terra, can Garfield and I speak with you alone for a few minutes?"

Terra nodded and followed them into the bedroom, while Alix and Erik exchanged frustrated looks.

_Why all the secrets? _ Erik wondered.


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as the door closed behind Raven, Terra, and Gar, Alix surged to her feet. "I do not know about you two, but I, for one, am sick of being left in the dark."

Erik and Henry nodded their consent, and all three crowded around the bedroom door, through which, they could hear quite clearly.

"Does this have anything to do with what happened at the Civic Center? Do you think that guy was the one who tried to have that crystal stolen?" Terra's voice was fraught with worry.

"_That guy's_ name is Sound, and yes. Something about what Henry asked earlier; Sound could not have known about the attempted theft unless he had a part in it," Raven replied.

"He mentioned his sister. How...what happened to her?" Terra asked, as if she was afraid to hear the answer.

There was a pause, during which the three eavesdroppers shared a look.

They heard Garfield begin speaking, his voice equally as cautious as Terra's. "After you were turned to stone we tried everything we could think of to bring you back. A few years later, I'm sorry to say, we had just about given-up, but then Raven introduced us to this little girl named Melvin, who had the power to create things from her imagination. We thought that if she could imagine you alive, then her powers would somehow turn you back."

_Turned to stone?! _The eavesdroppers wondered in unison.

Terra's voice was then so quiet that Erik, Henry, and Alix had to strain their ears in order to hear her. "But it didn't work?"

Silence.

"She died?"

Silence.

"And you knew this would happen?" Terra asked, her voice louder, angrier.

"No," Gar said quickly. "Of course not! If we had known, then we wouldn't have had Melvin try in the first place."

There was another pause.

Raven spoke softly, barely audible through the wood door. "I knew."

-O-O-O-

Raven stared at the bedroom floor, ashamed.

"What?" Gar asked incredulously from his seat at the room's small desk.

Terra was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Raven could sense shared feelings of confusion from the two, and also from the three that she knew were listening-in on their conversation from behind the closed door.

"I knew," she began again, "that it was a _possibility_."

"Then why did you let her?" Terra demanded, her voice bordering on enraged once more.

Raven seemed to shrink even more, not knowing how to respond to Terra's question. Perhaps she should have talked it over and made sure that everyone knew of the risk that Melvin was taking, but with each passing day that Terra was trapped, Gar had been becoming more and more depressed, and if Raven had rushed into things, it was only because she couldn't bear to see him that way. So she had jumped at every opportunity to bring Terra back, every opportunity to make him happy again.

_It's my fault Melvin died. This is why I can't succumb to my emotions; because of my...love...for him, an innocent girl is dead._ Raven shook her head as if to clear it.

"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that Sound blames you and I, Terra, for Melvin's death."

_"As he should."_ Raven heard Terra think loudly.

"Garfield, why don't you entertain your other guests, the ones who have been eavesdropping on our conversation," she suggested.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Terra stiffen.

Gar shot Raven a meaningful look before he stood up and left the room.

-O-O-O-

Terra's eyes followed Raven as she moved to sit where Garfield had been sitting a moment ago.

"Terra," Raven began in the tone of a doctor bearing hard news, "if we don't fix the crystal soon, it is very likely that-."

"I'll be turned to stone again," Terra finished numbly.

Raven nodded grimly.

"How long do I have?" Her voice was a whisper.

"It's hard to tell, but at the rate it is progressing, I would guess four days at the most, two at the least."

Terra bit her lip, trying to keep herself from panicking. _Shouldn't I have some sort of bucket list? Isn't that what people do when they know they're...dying?_

"There's something else," Raven said.

_Oh, Great. What now?_

"The day you stopped the volcano, the explosion of your powers created a massive air pocket underneath the city. Earlier tonight, Sound told me that he plans on using that air pocket as a sinkhole. A sinkhole large enough to swallow most of Jump City."

Terra sighed. _Once again, the city is in trouble, and it's all my fault._

"He said that he is going to set it off tomorrow, unless you and I meet him at the old observatory before six a.m. tomorrow morning."

"Well then," Terra remarked, "I guess we don't have much of a choice, do we?"

-O-O-O-

Raven watched Terra leave the room, mulling over their options. No doubt, Sound had some sort of device ready with a remote detonator to activate the sinkhole; from the vantage point of the Troy Observatory, he would be afforded an unobstructed view of the city. It was certainly a trap, but Terra was right. _We don't have much of a choice. _And Raven wasn't sure that if it came down to a fight that she and Terra would be prepared to defeat Sound. She didn't know how extensively he had been trained by Slade, but he would certainly be a formidable opponent.

Raven was also becoming increasingly worried about Terra, she hadn't told the blonde that her prediction of two days was an extraordinarily optimistic one. Terra would be lucky to make it through tomorrow.


	13. Chapter 13

Terra lay awake on the couch, numb to everything except the dull throbbing in her head. Everyone else was sleeping, and had been for a good while, Gar in his bedroom, Erik and Henry in sleeping bags on the floor, and Alix on the couch next to Terra. Raven had left a little more than an hour ago, but she would be back in the morning to fetch Terra before anyone else was awake. They hadn't told any of the others about Sound's threat or about their plans for that next morning, not wanting their friends to have to worry.

Raven had advised Terra to get some rest, but that seemed an impossible task. Her thoughts wandered. First, she watched the clock, then, her gaze shifted to the window, where she could see the lights of the city peeking through the cracks in the closed curtain. She followed with her azure eyes a beam of orange-yellow light that streamed down and rested on Erik's face. He, Alix, and Henry had been pestering her with questions since eavesdropping on her conversation with Gar and Raven, but they had finally stopped when she told them that she would explain _everything_ once this was all over, a promise that she knew would be very difficult for her to keep.

Another ripple of needle-sharp pain passed through her body and her hand flew to her mouth to keep herself from crying out, but her leg thrashed instinctively, accidentally kicking Alix in the back. Terra froze, but Alix just mumbled something about a talking brain and rolled over. She let out a sigh of relief. Not only did she not want to disturb someone sleeping so peacefully, but she was also afraid that if Alix woke up, she would ask Terra if she was okay, a question that Terra had been asked way too much recently.

_Of course I'm not 'okay'! My head feels like someone's trying to make orange juice out of it, and I could be dead in two days!_

That last thought triggered a flood of silent tears, and she felt a slight tingling feeling. Terra didn't have to look to know that the stone color was once again spreading, starting from her arms, and probably her legs too. It seemed to get worse when she was stressed, so she forced herself to relax, and after a few minutes the pinching sensation faded away.

"This is going to be a long night," Terra whispered to herself as she sat up and curled her knees to her chest, staring at the clock on the wall, and counting the minutes until morning.


	14. Chapter 14

At about five fifty-five a.m., Terra was jolted from her trance by Raven's sudden appearance in the form of a giant, black bird.

_"Are you ready?" _Raven asked telepathically.

Terra nodded grimly. "Let's go," she whispered.

They were both enveloped in blackness as Raven teleported them away from the apartment.

O-O-O

Raven and Terra were soon standing outside the Troy Observatory, located on a hill just beyond the city limits. Terra took a deep breath, she was exhausted from having stayed up all night, but was also ready to get the inevitable battle over-with. Without so much as a word to Raven, she strode quickly to the large doors and heaved them open. The other followed silently.

The interior of the observatory was spacious and, aside from the huge telescope, relatively empty. In the center of the floor stood Sound, looking extraordinarily pleased with himself.

"Cutting it a bit close, aren't we?"

"We're here," Raven stated simply.

"So stop whatever plans you have to activate the sinkhole," Terra finished.

"Stop it? Oh, no, there's no stopping it, you see, the seismic generator is on a countdown."

"Then what was the point in bringing us here?" Raven demanded.

Sound grinned. "I just wanted to make sure that the two of you had good seats for the show. You're about to watch me succeed in something my mentor never could: the total destruction of Jump City," he gloated.

"Slade!" Terra hissed, looking again at the familiar shades of orange and black in Sound's apparel. "He trained you, didn't he?"

"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" Sound declared.

Terra bristled, feeling chills rush up and down her spine as Raven's eyes turned red and tentacles of dark energy surged out from underneath her cloak, wrapping around Sound and lifting him off the ground.

"Where. Is. The. Device?" Raven asked, her voice taking on an inhuman tone.

"I thought-I thought it was obvious," Sound managed to choke out as the black vines squeezed him tighter.

_Of course! _"The cave! Raven, he's talking about the cave!" Terra shouted, mentally reprimanding herself for being so foolish.

The half-demoness tossed Sound against a wall, and was ready to teleport to the location of the seismic generator, when she and Terra heard a loud rumbling sound. The ground began to shake violently.

"You're too late!" Sound sneered.

Raven returned to her normal state and the heroines looked to each other, both with eyes wide in horror.

_Had they really failed?_

Tears stung at Terra's eyes and she clenched her fists. She could feel that they were once again turning color, but she didn't care. Everyone she cared about was in the city, and if she couldn't save it then she would, by no means, allow herself to fail at avenging it. Even if it cost her her life. Terra could now barely see through the yellow haze of energy that surrounded her as she brought her powers to bear.

-O-O-O-

Raven watched as Terra threw herself at their enemy, bombarding him with huge slabs of concrete and tile ripped from the floor. Sound was taken off-guard by the sudden assault and it took him a moment to retaliate, but retaliate he did, sending a shock wave of noise that sent Terra reeling. Raven was about to intervene when she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

-O-O-O-

Garfield stood at the entrance of the observatory with Pulse at his side. He was somewhat shocked to see Terra fighting Sound with such ferocity, matching the villain blow for blow. The blonde's anger rivaled that of Raven's red-eyed rampages. But the changeling also felt a pang of fear for Terra when he saw that her skin had become gray-colored, darker, even, than Raven's abnormally pale skin. The violet-haired girl sent him a knowing look before he, she, and Pulse leapt into the fray.


	15. Chapter 15

It took Terra a good amount of time to realize that she was no longer fighting Sound alone, but that she had Raven, Gar, and Pulse backing her up. And it took her even longer to register that the only tremors in the ground now were the ones that she was causing with her powers. Somehow, the sinkhole had been stopped. Though her head was pounding, she flashed her friends a hopeful smile and the team began fighting with renewed vigor.

-O-O-O-

As soon as the four heroes defeated Sound, Pulse and Gar exchanged triumphant high-fives. Pulse raised his hand to give Terra one as well, but just as he was going to, she began to sway as if she were about to faint. He caught her just in time and eased her gently down to the ground. Pulse still wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but something was definitely wrong with his friend; her skin had become an ashen gray, her hair, and even her clothes, seemed to be losing color as well.

"What's happening to her?" he asked in dismay.

-O-O-O-

Raven just shook her head in reply. She couldn't believe it, but she actually felt sad for the girl who had once played as both friend and enemy. There was no sign of the crystal anywhere, and Sound wasn't talking; it seemed as if Terra had been given a second chance only to have it taken away. Raven placed a comforting hand on Gar's shoulder, who, with tears in his emerald eyes, had knelt down beside his fallen friend.

-O-O-O-

Garfield was numb with disbelief. He grasped Terra's hand tightly, determined not to lose her a second time, but unable to do anything to prevent her from becoming a statue again. Terra's eyes were closed tightly, her jaw clenched as if she was in pain. _I'm sorry, Terra. I'm so sorry. I just wish there was something, _anything_,_ _I could have done._

-O-O-O-

Wildcard, in the form of a green pterodactyl, landed in front of the observatory. Ever, without a word, leapt from his back as he detransformed back into his human form. She dashed inside, two yellow shards clutched in her hands.

"Look!" she called as she approached the group. "Wildcard and I found the-." Ever stopped herself in mid-sentence when she saw Terra's condition.

Wildcard's voice came from behind her. "Are we...Are we too late?" he asked hesitantly.

Raven's eyes lit up with some emotion resembling hope. "No, there's still time!"


	16. Chapter 16

Through the pain, Terra was vaguely aware of what was happening around her, though she couldn't move, couldn't even open her eyes. Someone was squeezing her hand, but she was unable to give a response. A sharp, tingling feeling spread throughout her body as her skin began to harden and turn gray.

Voices. They were mostly muffled, but Terra could hear both Ever's and Wildcard's. _When did they get here? _Then Raven's monotone sounded from right beside her. Terra was only able to make out a few of the words. "...re's still time!" _Still time? For what? _she wondered dimly.

Next thing she knew, something, or rather two somethings, were being pressed into her hands. They were hard and cold, but somehow felt...alive. _The crystal! _It felt almost like a magnet, like the two halves were sucking her into them and she'd be lost forever, though in reality she hadn't moved. The feeling strengthened until it seemed her heart would be ripped from her chest. And then it wasn't two things she was holding, but one. The pain was gone.

-O-O-O-

The group watched apprehensively as Terra's eyes fluttered open, her skin becoming its usual tan color, and her hair its normal blonde. _So, we've defeated the bad guy, and Terra has somehow fixed the crystal. Now can we _please_ go get back the metallic chromium? _Wildcard thought impatiently.

O-O-O

After handing Sound off to the police, the six heroes returned to Garfield's apartment for some much-needed rest. Rest, however, did not come easily to any of them, adrenaline still pumping from their recent escapade. Surprisingly, Raven was the one who came up with the idea to order pizza instead.

"So spill," Henry said around a mouthful of pepperoni. "You promised that you'd tell us everything!"

Terra swallowed a bite of her garbage pizza. "You first," she stalled. "How did you know where Rae and I were going?"

Henry, Alix, and Erik all looked to Gar, who laughed guiltily.

"We might've sorta eavesdropped on you two, just a bit," he explained.

Terra rolled her eyes, flashing Raven a "what are we going to do with him" smile. The violet-haired girl looked surprised at his admission, she had stopped checking for eavesdroppers after Gar had left the room. She hadn't suspected that he would take part in it, but looking back, she should have known better. This wasn't the first time he had done something like this, just the first time in a while.

"We guessed that Sound wouldn't play fair," Gar continued, "so I sent Henry and Alix to look for the generator and stop it, while Erik and I followed you for backup. Though, it seems to me you didn't need much help."

Here, Alix took up the story.

"Henry and I had no clue where to begin looking. We searched downtown, the pier, even the big suspension bridge, nothing. We were at the theme park when we found the entrance to the tunnels. By that time the ground was already shaking pretty badly, and it was only by sheer luck we were able to find the cavern where Sound had planted his machine. The generator itself looked pretty small considering it could have wiped out the whole city." Alix gestured with her hands to show that it had been a good three fourths of her height. "It was cylindrical in shape and there was a glass window, through which we could see both halves of the yellow crystal. Sound must have been using it as the power source," she explained analytically.

Alix paused for breath, and Henry took the opportunity to add his own input.

"I had picked up Gar's power, so I turned into this _ginormous _green gorilla and _smashed_ through the glass!" he exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "It was so cool! Then I smashed the rest of the thing flatter than a pancake!"

"After we got the crystal out, of course," he added hurriedly.

"Anyway," Alix interrupted, "after gorilla-butt smashed the thing to bits, the sinkhole stopped. As far as we can guess, the crystal must have been stolen after Henry and I left Bellain. We haven't had time to contact the museum and find out, though."

"And you know the rest," Erik finished.

"I guess its my turn, then," Terra sighed, fixing her gaze on the translucent (and recently repaired) yellow gem sitting on the coffee table amidst the pizza boxes. Taking a deep breath, Terra began her story from the very beginning. She had planned on omitting most of the details, especially regarding her betrayal of the Titans and her time as Slade's apprentice, but the more she told of her story, the more weight seemed to lift from her shoulders. She soon found herself spilling everything, right down to the flavor of pie she had eaten on her one date with a then twelve-year-old Gar. Her account finally ended with the defeat of Ember, and her resumed career as a world traveler. She finished in a rush, eyes still fixed on the crystal, not having realized how quickly she had been speaking.

Terra looked cautiously around the room, which was blanketed with an astonished silence. Alix, Erik, and Henry all appeared completely awestruck, even Gar seemed to be a little shocked regarding her harsh life before the Titans. Raven was stoic as ever.

"I guess now we know why you didn't want to tell us about your past," Erik said, feeling guilty about all of the times he had pestered her.

The silence was quickly replaced by a chorus of questions. "What was your family like?" "So, with all your traveling, you've never celebrated Christmas?" "What's it like, being made of stone?" "Did you ever visit Gotham?" Which was quickly followed by: "Did you know Batman?" This last question caused even more laughter than Gar's question of: "How did you go to the bathroom in your apprentice uniform?"

O-O-O

That next day, Terra took Erik and her two newest friends on a field trip to Titans' Tower. Erik was curious as to the infrastructure of the T-shaped building. "Did I mention I'm afraid of heights," he said half-jokingly.

Henry was ecstatic to meet Cyborg, but he wasn't able to stay for long; his parents would be returning from their business trip soon, and they would be "totally freaked" if their son was nowhere to be found. Alix, on the other hand, wanted to stay in Jump City for a while. So, leaving Alix and Erik in Cyborg's capable hands, Terra flew Henry back to his home in Bellain. He seemed slightly off-put by the fact that they hadn't recovered the stolen metallic chromium, but that didn't matter much considering that he had been able to meet three of his childhood heroes.

On the way back to the Tower, happy tears in her eyes, Terra didn't restrain the urge to make a few joyful loop-da-loops.


	17. Chapter 17-Epilogue

Epilogue

She emerged from the water breathless, limping heavily, hoping she had lost her pursuers. She shivered violently. If she had had the strength, she would have driven the water from her skin, drying herself instantly. Sopping wet, she trudged onward, keeping herself upright by the sheer force of her will. Strands of her long, black hair dangled annoyingly in front of her face, but through them she could finally see her destination: Jump City, where she hoped she would find aid. _Just a little further,_ she told herself, words that had been repeating in her head for what seemed like hours. _Just a little further._


End file.
